Posted by chicagomedia.org on September 26, 2008 at 22:42:26:
Host of Polka radio show deeply proud of his roots
FRANCIS 'FRANK' SAMORAJ | 1938-2008 Worked at car dealership, south suburban school district
Francis "Frank" Samoraj was about as South Side Polish as they come. From speaking only Polish until the age of 10 to hosting his own polka radio show, Mr. Samoraj was proud of his Polish roots.
Mr. Samoraj died of heart problems Saturday near his Orland Park home. He was 69.
Born Oct. 4, 1938, and raised in Pittsburgh, Mr. Samoraj attended a Polish Catholic grade school and high school before attending General Motors Institute. His parents did not have enough money to send him to college, so Mr. Samoraj's uncle said he would pay for his education if he went to the institute. Afterward, he worked at his uncle's Pontiac dealership in Chicago.
Mr. Samoraj met his wife at a church dance and promised to give all of her friends a ride home if he could give her a ride too. It was the middle of winter and below freezing, which made the offer enticing to the friends, but not to his future wife.
"He came to Beverly and belonged to the same church as I did [Queen of Martyrs]," said his wife, Carol. "I met Frank at a church dance. I wouldn't give him my number, and it was a very volatile courtship for five years. The day we got married he did his first radio show."
While working at the Pontiac dealership, Mr. Samoraj would hold Sunday polka dances to attract customers. Another one of the employees was involved in radio, and the two decided to start a polka show on WOPA-AM (1490).
As his family continued to grow, he left his uncle's dealership and became instrumental in coordinating the computer systems for the south suburban schools in District 230. He continued his work on radio and started a noon broadcast of polka music on 1490 AM, today known as WPNA.
"I would never tell people he did this, and when people heard my last name, they would ask if I was married to Frank," Carol Samoraj said. "While he was doing that, he had two strokes and could never go back because it left his left side paralyzed. He was active in the Polish community and wanted to get an American-based radio show [for Polish people]."
Besides his wife, Mr. Samoraj is survived by his daughters, Cathy Casey and Cindy Greaney; a sister, Nancy Willig, and six grandchildren.
A funeral mass will be offered at 10 a.m. today at St. Francis of Assisi, 15050 S. Wolf Rd., Orland Park. Burial will follow at Good Shepherd Cemetery, 16201 S. 104th Ave., Orland Park.
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